Love, war & fangs
by TheDezzymandius
Summary: In a world where Shapeshifters live amongst us, and there are more secrets then we ever could have imagined. Penelope O'niell comes from a long line of wolf shifters, living on her own she pushes through each day. She doesn't want it to change, but when a long lost relative returns, Penny finds herself facing a horrifying truth that would pull her into a war she never knew existed.
1. The home of Penelope O'niell

_I nearly died the first time I shifted_.

Despite all the years my mother had prepared me for it, training my body and my mind. Attempting to prepare me for the agony the first change would induce, the breaking and reforming of my bones, the stretching of my skin and the tearing of muscles. It had felt like my body was being run over by a bulldozer. It was the third time I'd cried my entire life, something that had also come as a shock to me. The first time I had cried had been at birth as my umbilical cord had been cut. The separation from my mother devastating me, our kind were very close, and connection was very important to us. I had known this from birth so to lose this with my mother had been near traumatic. Fortunately my parents had comforted me with their cuddles and I had got over it. The second time I had cried was the time my father and younger brother died, they were fighting in battle together against our enemies, the Sythes. I had been too underdeveloped to fight with them at the time, we don't battle together unless we've experienced the change. This meant that I hadn't been with them when they died but I felt the moment their hearts stopped.

Two years after their death on my tenth birthday, I shifted for the first time, guided by my mother alone. It had been unbearable, a pain no human ten year human would ever have to endure. Yet somehow I had survived, without going insane from the pain of the experience.

I have shifted many times since then, now it is second nature to me and doesn't hurt at all. My body is now accustomed to the transformation. It is very fortunate that I mastered my abilities as when I was fifteen my mother succumbed to an illness. It is only my kind of shifter than can develop this illness, we refer to it as luna-psychosis. The presences of the moon drives her into a frenzy of madness, it is permanent and incurable.

As a result I rarely see my mother anymore, the elders took her away from me to sent her to the Luna Medical Research Facility. Where any of our kind go when they succumb to the illness, it is a place where they can be kept without being a risk to others or themselves. I protested at first, determined to look after her myself, but I was simply not capable. It was only when an elder contacted me and informed me that if I did not give up my resistance they would be forced to put her down. Put her down like a dog.

That had majorly pissed me off, but I'd given her up. I was not strong enough to fight them all, and I could not bare to lose my mother too. Now I live on my own in the house we used to call home, it doesn't feel like a home anymore. Now it feels like a base, the place I come to after school or a hunt. The neighbours find it odd that I'm only seventeen living on my own in a house, I often receive questions like "Is your name on the mortgage?" Or "Do you pay council tax?" Mundane questions that I have well rehearsed lines for. Truthfully, I don't pay for anything, the High Council keep the human government off my back, as they do with all unemployed members of their species, especially their wolf shifters. Out of all the species we have the highest population, with a strong sense of loyalty amongst ourselves, our kind have been the cause of famous riots.

I found myself staring at my mothers photo above the fireplace as I always did when I was lost in thought, I couldn't help but mimic her smile as she held a little wolf cub in her arms. My younger brother, James, he had shifted at the age of six, and so had been much more advanced than me. Hence why he had joined my father on the battlefield, even at the young age of eight. Wolves like to get their young in the field young, so that we can became more experienced and capable protecting our packs later. Besides they thought it would be a few weak Sythes that had wandered into our area. They hadn't expected the ambush.

I noticed dust building up on the picture, and picked the frame off of the shelving, I turned and made my way from my living room into my kitchen, looking for a cloth I could wipe it with. I tried to keep this place as homely as possible, although Jason often referred to it as an unloved home.

As Jason popped into my mind, I heard the door knock, sweet irony. I could smell his aftershave, I grabbed a cloth and cleaned the picture as I made my way to the front door. Shifting the photo and cloth to my left handas I opened my front door to reveal my best friend with a cheeky smile plastered on his face.

"Why hello beautiful," He said to me, handing me a packaged object as though he had been holding roses. I smirked and raised my brow at him,

"Meatball sub with extra cheese?"

"The fact you can tell just from the smell is freakishly sexy" I laughed and stepped aside to let him in, he walked past me and pinched the photo from my hands. "Ahh looking at Helen again, damn your mum is hot. You were a test tube baby right?" I scowled, and snatched the picture from him.

"Too hot for you, stick to granny's sweetie, more your speed," I moved away to return my mums photo to the shelf where it belonged. I could tell Jason was following me into the living room,

"Oh I don't know, I reckon I'm a milf magnet, you know Mrs Henderson?"

"The lady who pays you to clean her gutters?"

"Ha! she wishes," I rolled my eyes at his obvious innuendo, "I was cleaning her pool yesterday and she kept insisted that because it was so warm outside I should take my top off, I'm telling you Penny, she wants the D" I snorted with laughter again and the two off us sat on my sofa, I unwrapped my sub and bit into it hungrily. I had forgotten to hunt this morning, I should really stick to prey I catch, but even the wolf in me appreciated a good meatball sub. After chewing for a minute I spoke again, pulling my feet up so they were rested on Jason's lap.

"Well clearly she's desperate if she wants to undress the pool guy"

"Haha that's cute, act like you haven't pictured me naked, I know you want it too." His devilish smile playing on his lips as he flexed his biceps. I couldn't deny Jason was a good looking guy, tanned skin like toffee, black spiky hair, dark eyes. He went to the gym a lot so he had very defined muscles, and always wore tight black tops to show it off. He was hot, for a human.

I was well aware of Jason's feelings for me from the start, I can hear the way his heartbeat speeds up when he's near me, and smell the pheromones his body releases. I know that he won't make a move anytime soon because he has commitment phobia, he likes to play with girls and leave them. But he won't do that to me because he cares for me too much, I know one day he'll risk it and ask me out.

 _Then I'll have to break his heart._

I can love a human, but I can't fall in love with one. The universal laws won't allow it, it is too dangerous for the human involved. I did love Jason, as a brother, as a friend, but I would never feel the way he felt for me. It hurt knowing this, Jason would be the perfect mate. Handsome, strong, kind, protective with a natural ability to put a smile on my face. Sometime I wanted desperately to love him back but when I sought those feelings, I felt nothing.

"Oh yeah, you're totally picturing me naked right now! Hot stuff I know" He chuckled as I softly tapped his hand with my knuckles. I reached out with the hand holding the sub offering him a bite, he leaned over and bit into it. He chewed for a moment, before speaking, "So what did you have planned for today? Wanna go see Fright Night? A new versions been released and Colin Farrell gets to play the badass vamp, I hear David Tennants in it too"

I scoffed, Vampire movies indeed, there were no such thing as Vampires. I always found any movies relating to them ridiculously implausible. As a member of the supernatural society, I knew full well that the only creatures that existed were Shifters, and the vampiric myth just descended from a few serpentine shifters centuries ago that had started a little craze about killing humans mid shift. Meaning that they only had some of the qualities of their shifted form. Staying in mid-shift was dangerous, excruciatingly painful and only attempted by those of our kind that were a little mentally unstable. Of course I couldn't tell Jason this as he was oblivious, like every other human, to the supernatural world.

"Dude vamps suck, what else is on?"

"Errrrr, I'm pretty sure there's a film about possession or exorcism on,"

"Isn't there always?" Possession on the other hand was very real, not by demons however, but sometimes the spirits of shifters found there way in vulnerable humans and went to get revenge on those who had wronged them. It didn't happen often but when it did, boy was it chaotic.

"We could always stay here and watch porn," He said with a wink, I rolled my eyes at him in disgust.

"I'll get my coat" Jumping onto my feet, I wolfed down the rest of the sub. I walked out of the room and to the closet under the staircase, pulling out my pink and cream coat, I shrugged it on. I wouldn't normally need a coat in my wolf form my fur keeps me nice and toasty. However as a human, the light hairs that cover my skin just don't compare.

As I turned I noticed Jason was already at my front door waiting, I grabbed my purse off the kitchen side, followed him outside and into his car.

I took a moment to admire Jason's Peugeot 206, it was hardly an impressive vehicle but it got the job done. Plus we had experienced so many laughs in that little machine, I couldn't help but feel a little love for it.

I happily climbed into the passenger seat and immediately turned on the radio. Jason grinned at the loud inappropriate rap music and turned it up so all the neighbours could hear.

"I love bad bitches that my fucking problem! Now let's go watch some bitches scream,"

A couple hours and one really sucky movie later Jason pulled back into the spot in front if my house, animatedly talking about the effects the movie had on me. In this case, none.

"You know one day I'm going to find something that makes you scream" he challenged as he turned the engine off.

"Hey I've smelt your breathe in the morning, good luck finding something scarier than that," he playfully poked my side, causing me to jump at the tickling sensation and let out a snicker. His big brown eyes locked on mine for a moment before gliding over to the house, his cheeky grin faded into one of his rare serious expressions. Uh oh, This couldn't be good.

"You know, you can always come live with me, we have a spare room."

Here we go, at least once a month Jason tries to convince me to move in with him, he seemed to believe that living alone wasn't healthy for me.

"Jase-"

"Come on! Hear me out Penelope! I could drive us both to college, you'd get warm home cooked meals, sure you'd have to deal with all my siblings but they love you. Plus my mums cool with it, what's so bad about it? We could spend more time together." His eyes softened, there was no trace of that devilish smirk. I could hear his heart racing, I caught his glance at my lips. "Penny, I-" Oh god? Was he going to confess? No, not now! It's too early I didn't think I'd have to reject him for at least another year or so.

Then I heard something in the background, something that made me spin sharply in my seat and look at my house. I narrowed my eyes and resisted the urge to growl. Jason looked confused, "Penny, what's up?" I raked the house over with my eyes, I couldn't tell him of course, a fundamental rule of our kind was to never let a human get involved in our conflicts. So before turning back to my friend my expression immediately softened as though I had simply been thinking things over.

"Look I'm sorry Jase, I'm just too attached to this house, it's where the memories of my family are and I just can't leave it, not yet I'm not ready," I could almost feel the disappointment radiating from him, he gave me one of the small side smiles that made him look adorable.

"It's cool, catch you later Penny"

I beamed at him, leaning over I pecked him on the cheek, before climbing out of the peugeot. I waited for him to pull away waving goodbye as he did. As soon as his tail lights disappeared at the end of the road I spun on my heel and ran towards my house. I grabbed the door handle, noticing it was unlocked I threw my door open.

"Reveal yourself intruder!" I roared, slamming the door behind me so they couldn't get out that way. I had known someone was in the house since being in Jason's car, having heard movement from inside plus there was a smell in the area that suggested it was someone supernatural visiting.

I was met with a low chuckle, coming from my living room, I didn't hesitate to follow the sound. I flicked the light switch on and faced my uninvited guests.

"You sure are feisty," The words came from a male, he appeared to be 20-22 years of age. He stood at 6'5 ft tall, with a lean muscular build, he had platinum blonde hair at mid length that hung around his eyes. And those eyes, fierce grass green with yellow flecks. They were probably the most fascinating pair of eyes I'd ever seen.

He was accompanied by another male around the same age standing behind him, staring down at an object in his hand. He was five inches shorter than his companion. Creamy skin and ash blonde hair just like mine, I knew who he was and the moment he glanced my way it was clarified, one blue eye and one brown. Standing there was Derek O'neill, my older brother.

"Penelope..." He whispered, I didn't hesitate a second longer. I launched myself at him, fists flying, screaming bloody murder. Instantly his platinum haired friend hooked his arm around my waist and pulled me away preventing me from unleashing my well deserved anger out on him.

"Whoa there pup!" he stated, a comment I was too furious to acknowledge.

"How dare you return to this house! After you abandoned us! You traitor! You coward!" I spat angrily, then I noticed he was holding was the photo I'd polished earlier of our mother. I snarled in rage, "Put that down now! You don't even deserve to look at her!"'

"Penelope, please hear me out-" I struggled against the guys grip, he was damn strong I had to give him that, I didn't attack people I didn't know. I especially didn't attack one with a scent like this guy, I knew when my opponent was way above my league, my brother on the other hand I could kill in a matter of moments.

"No! I will not, I want you out of this house right now, I swear to god I'll rip your limbs off!"

"You wolves aren't very linguistically creative are you?" Said my restrainer, I spun around to face him,

"And who the fuck are you loudmouth?" He laughed silkily as though he'd been waiting for that question for hours,

"Travis Drake." I stilled for a moment, a royal? In my house? That was why he had smelled that way. Despite this I squared up to him, not letting his political power intimidate me.

"Well Mr Drake, would you kindly take your filthy hands off me, I have someone I want to maim,"

"I will release you when you promise to be a good girl" I snarled in response, "Ugh you dogs and your growling its really not as intimidating as you think, she's so much like you Derek,"

"That's enough Travis! Please Penny I'll explain everything. Tell you everything that happened that day, just give me a moment if your time, afterwards if you're not satisfied I give you permission to tear my throat out and Travis wont stop you!" I glanced over at Derek, looking into his eyes, he had never been a liar when I had known him. He had been warm, loving and kind. That was why his betrayal had been such a shock. His words struck a cord with me, no one had a first person account of what happened, all we knew is what the evidence told us, I wanted to hear it, even if I hated him.

"Fine, I'll listen, but prepare your last words cause once you're done I'm going to shred you to pieces,"

There was a brief movement before Travis let go of my waist, he then proceeded to clap his hands together loudly.

"Splendid! I'll go make some tea!"

~To be continued~


	2. Unwelcome news

So here we were, sitting in my living room. I had taken a seat on the sofa where Jason and I had been placed earlier whereas my scumbag brother had taken a seat in the armchair. If anyone had told me this morning that my long lost brother was planning on popping in for a visit, I would have probably bit their head off and stayed home so I could kill him on sight. On my list of the top ten people whose head I'd like on a stick, he ranked second, right behind the men who killed our father and brother. This just showed how much I really hated him.

He was staring at the ground as though trying to think of how to start. I on the other hand just stared directly at him, not at all bothered by the fact my intense stare might be making him more uncomfortable. I was hardly going to make this easy for him, not after what happened.

See Derek is three years older than me and the last time I had seen him was the day they went to battle, this so happened to be nine years ago. It had actually been my father and both brothers that had gone, 8 year old James and 11 year old Derek. My father and twin brother had died in ambush. But Derek had gone missing, at first we thought he'd been kidnapped by the enemy. We we devastated, praying for his safety, fearing the kind of torture we believed he was going through. Then one day we were informed by our investigators that Derek had been found alive and well.

And working for the people that killed our family.

This was why I was so infuriated by his presence, so disgusted that he would dare enter our house and even look at my mothers photo. He was a traitor, he had clearly fled to the opposition and begged for mercy. It was cowardly and pathetic, and he here was in the house we grew up in trying to explain himself. But I had to admit, I wanted to know what happened, to shred the mystery behind their deaths.

"You know how I developed late right? And when we went to battle I hadn't quite got used to the shift yet"

I didn't respond but I did remember, Derek was not only a late bloomer but for a while I had wondered if he was adopted, he had caused a few arguments between my parents as my family had begun to suspect that he wasn't full wolf. It had been a huge relief when he finally shifted after James.

"Well Paps knew I wasn't quite accustomed to it at the time, but he didn't want me to face the shame of staying at home when my younger brother fought by his side. So he brought me along, hoping I could rise to the occasion. I had hoped so too. I wanted nothing more than to prove myself as a wolf and make him proud. But we had no idea how horrible things would turn out! We thought we would just have to rough up a few lower class Sythes. We never saw them coming, we had arrived at the coordinates we had been given. We could smell them nearby mixed in with an odd scent. There was a thick stench of mud all around us, we hadn't realized the enemy had coated themselves in it to disguise their scent. There must have been at least 30, maybe 40. Hawks, Serpentine, and Felines of all sorts. When we got ambushed both Paps and James transformed fine, threw themselves into battle like real warriors. You could just see how experienced Paps was, and James, well he was a natural." I saw a small smile flicker across his lips, before disappearing once more "But I was a coward, I was so scared, Inpanicked and when I tried I got stuck. Mid-shift. It was horrible, I've never had to deal with something so agonizing."

He closed his eyes and shuddered, I gulped slightly. I could imagine, being stuck in that moment where your muscles are tearing and your bones dislocating. To prolong that, it was a sane shifters worse nightmare. It almost made me feel sorry for him ... almost.

"I tried to fight them but I was in so much pain I could barely move, Dad tried to protect me but he died in the process as did James, they just got swamped by them. Our back up never came either, we had been deliberately given a separate message, no one even knew where we were," He was silent for a moment, shutting his eyes once more as though he could see it right now.

"So... you're the reason their dead?" I asked in disbelief, I was furious and proud at the same time. They had died protecting family, if only he hadn't turned into such a coward. Derek opened his odd eyes and looked into mine. They were filled with so much sorrow and pain that a part of me wanted to hold him. I looked away, trying to push away the bond we once had that was trying to reform. He sighed and continued,

"Partially, yes. I was too weak, I should have trained harder. They even stopped bothering to attack because to them I was good as dead. I passed out from the pain, and didn't wake for two days." I frowned at him,

"But when they found the bodies, you were no where to be seen." I stated accusingly,

"That would be my doing," I looked round to see Travis carrying a tray of steaming mugs. He continued to explain as he placed the drinks on the coffee table, "See the council had heard of the ambush unfortunately we were too late to inform your kin, so I gathered my best men and headed down to lend assistance. We were also too late to save the other members of your family but your brother here, despite the awful state he was in was still alive. So I strapped him to my back and took him to my private doctors, I had my men return the bodies to your kind." He handed me a mug of tea, I hesitated before taking it from him. I blew on it before frowning once more,

"So why we're we not told that you had him in your custody?" After passing a cup to Derek, he sat himself next to me.

"Because I told my men not to." My jaw dropped, I scowled at him. Anger building once more,

"And why the hell not?" He chuckled in response, that laugh of his was started to irritate me, like he was talking to a child or a commoner.

"Because little one, I had a plan for your brother. It seemed fate brought him to me when I needed him most, see we had been strategising ways to discover the Sythes secrets. They were becoming too unpredictable, and we couldn't continue to endure it at the risk of losing more of our kind. All we needed was someone to infiltrate for us, it needed to be someone of amateur ability else they would suspect them. Our more experienced spies who attempted were slaughtered just for being suspiciously talented. Your brother was the perfect candidate. Shunned by his kind because of his inability to shift properly, abandoned by his family and seeking foolish revenge!"

I growled, irritated by the fact he thought we would ever shun our kin because of such a small weakness. They really knew nothing of our species.

"I was furious too," Derek stated taking a sip of his tea. "But Travis here so happens to be a very persuasive person, not to mention I owed him my life."

"But no one could know that he was working for me, only a few of my personal guard were aware. Hence why for all these years he has been classed as missing. Until your little investigators discovered his location. I really didn't want to tarnish his name, but it had to be done, plus it made his cover more believable." I had been taking a big gulp of tea to calm myself and I noticed he'd made it exactly the way I liked it. Not too much milk but way too much sugar, it was odd that he would know that. But not quite relevant enough to mention. I knew they were waiting for me to say something but how to respond was something I was struggling with. I had just been informed that after all these years of believing he was a traitor my brother was in fact working for our side.

I didn't want to believe him but I had the word of a royal and unless Travis was a traitor, I highly doubted it. Our high council and monarchy were the most patriotic and reliable authority to have ever ruled our kind. Although we were not at peace with certain species, they always thought about the people. They had already proved themselves in the last war.

"So you're telling me that instead of returning home to me and mother, you choose to live in a society you hate. Playing spy when you could have been home and safe, where we wouldn't have to pray every night for your safe return only to be misinformed that you had betrayed us. Do you not realize how much it hurt us to think that you had become a traitor?"

My tone was no longer an angry one but hurt, because all these years what we thought had all been a lie.

"I had to, I owed it to Travis and I owed it to Paps and James. If was the only way I could avenge them, to use weakness to help them" I put the cup down, and entwined my fingers.

"Do you know who killed our family?"

There was a long daunting silence, disturbed only by Travis gulping his drink. I waited patiently not willing to let him change the subject, I knew he had from his silence but I wanted him to say it. I needed it.

"Yeah, I killed them,

I inhaled sharply, I had not been expecting that. He had kill the men who murdered James and Dad. I felt a sense of satisfaction seep through me. They were gone, they could never hurt us again. I pushed down those emotions before they could rise, I did not want to cry right now. Especially not in front of these two.

"Of course that compromised his position in their ranks, meaning he could no longer stay there to infiltrate. I retrieved him and agreed to bring him here to explain everything."

I stood up, walking around my living room, letting it all sink in. Everything he said, it could be a lie but it just didn't feel like it. After several minutes, I turned to look at my brother, he look weathered, a lot had change about him. He used to be so energetic and loud, we used to playfight all the time, laughing together and bickering constantly. I had been closer to James because he was my twin, but even so me and Derek had been very close, once upon a time. Now he just looked reserved, quiet, nothing like the Derek I knew.

"I won't kill you." I stated, he blinked in surprise before giving me a small nod. "but I'd like you to leave now,"

I went to walk out of the room but both boys stood up protesting. I threw my hands up to quieten them. "Look I've heard your piece, and I haven't decided whether I believe you entirely. Be thankful I've not chosen to ignore what you've said and kill you anyway,"

"You sure talk big for such a little thing." Travis drawled

"Is that a challenge?" I snarled, momentarily forgetting who he was, his eyes lit up dangerously and he flashed a broad teeth-bearing grin

"I'd be delighted-"

"No! I did not come here to let you pick a fight with my sister, look Penelope there's more! There's something horrible going on right under your nose that you need to know." I tore my gaze from Travis to my brother, caught by the urgency in his tone.

"What are you talking about?" Derek took a step closer, his tired eyes locked with mine.

"It's our mother, She's being experimented on."


	3. The horrifying truth

"What?" My voice was cold, I could feel my fury rising,

"It's that place! The treatment their giving her, it's not what you'd call medicine."

"What the hell is it then!" I spat, my voice rising, I stepped closer to my previously long lost brother.

"We're not entirely sure, unregistered enhancement drugs we think, we know they have to doing a lot in terms of using her to learn about a wolf shifters biochemistry and anatomy."

"How long has this been going on? How come you know?"

"Because I infiltrated them, I learned about a lot of their projects. This one they were especially quiet about around me. Figured because I was a wolf it would infuriate me, and it did. It was then I called Travis and told him I wanted out. He agreed and we led an ambush of our own." Travis and Derek shared a look and a small smile. I could tell they were close, I dug my nails into my palms trying to keep my cool. Travis looked back to me and continued,

"As for how long Project Lycan has been in action is yet to be uncovered. I have many of my men investigating."

"Right," I said slowly dragging out the vowel. So why we were standing here discussing it, my mother might be getting tortured.

I spun on my heel and bolted.

Throwing myself out of the front door, I began to run in the direction of the asylum. I heard the guys calling me but I ignored them. I didn't know if it was true but I couldn't take the risk, I had to save my mother. As I reached the wooded area I shifted. Tearing my clothes as I did so. I didn't care right now, I just wanted to get her. To take her somewhere safe, I had to free her!

It felt good to be in my wolf form once more, it had been a little while. I felt right, I could feel the muscles I didn't get to use in human form working now. The wind sifting against my fur, it was an amazing feeling. Freedom, something my mother didn't have. I howled.

I heard another howl behind me and I could tell my brother was not far behind me. Trying to get me to stop. But I wouldn't. I was one of the fastest wolves in our pack, being sleek gave me a great advantage, plus all the hunting I did had been great training. The desire to save my mother only made me faster.

My mother meant the world to me, and even if she was no longer all there in mind, she was still the woman that had birthed me, trained me and held me those few times I had cried.

I felt a sudden pressure on my neck and choked as I was yanked back by an arm. I felt myself thrown onto my side and I whipped my neck round to bite my attacker. It was Travis. I snarled and snapped my sharp teeth at his face. However he didn't let go, in fact he squeezed tighter, pinning me down. He pushed his knee into my stomach to keep my body down,

"Calm down little one!" He whispered in my ear, I raised my hackles and snarled at him. "If you go now you're killing her, they'll put her down as soon as they find out you know."

I stilled, suddenly my brother was besides me, still in wolf form. I'd never seen him as a wolf but his coat suited him well a mixture of browns and greys.

"They'll say she got out of control and it had to be done, so that you won't have any evidence for what their doing. I know you want to save her but if you go barging in you're giving her a death sentence,"

I whined in the back of my throat, my brother mimicked my whine to show he felt the same.

"It's okay, I have plans set in place to shut them down and free your mother but they need to be done with our enemy unaware. I could use your help too, I've heard about you from some of your pack. Your skills would be fundamentally useful, you could even lead your own selection of helpers however I have to be informed first of who you select. You can't just tell anyone what's going on, walls have ears and people's mouthes."

I raised my ears and sat up a little feeling his arms move away from my neck, and his knee off my stomach. He reached behind him and unclipped his cloak, covering me with it.

"Shift back and we can discuss it on the way back to your home"

I was never a trusting person, but he made sense. Too much sense. Derek hadn't been wrong about his persuasive abilities. He was clearly born to be a leader, something about him made you listen, made you want to follow him.

Right now, I knew I had to listen to him. Of course they would put her down, they were hardly going to hand her over happily, not with all that enhancement drugs in her. I had to be smarter, normally I was but I had let my love and desire to protect my mother distract me. I hated to admit it but Travis looked like someone who could get things done without fail. And in this situation failure would result in the death of someone I loved.

I closed my eyes and focused, immediately I felt my body give in the the change. Reforming and restructuring itself. I noticed both Travis and my brother look away as my naked human form returned. Once done I pulled the cloak over me to cover myself properly and stood up.

My brother did not change back just yet, but I didn't complain. It was Travis I needed to talk to now, he stood up, towering over me as he did so. His power was ridiculous, to catch up with a wolf and pin one down in human form no less with little effort. Whatever he was, admittedly I did not like the idea if having him as an enemy.

"Tell me what I can do"

I lay in bed the next morning, contemplating all the things I had learned. So my brother wasn't a traitor, he was just pretending for our side. He know worked for some kind of Lord from the Drake family who was clearly very powerful. My father and brother had died trying to protect him. To avenge them he had spent nine years pretending to be the enemy, and recently he had killed them. My mother was currently in a facility where she was being experimented on and right now I couldn't do anything about it because she would be killed.

That was a hell of a lot of news to take in.

Amongst all this he had been recruited by a member of the Royal family, who was ridiculously powerful and probably a member of the High council. Despite Travis's impressive power, he was most likely just a cousin in the bloodline. None of the ruling members would ever visit the house of a civilian, it was simply unheard of. However, he was probably close to the King and Princes, which meant he had alot of influence.

I climbed out of bed, I was naked because I had slept in my wolf form. I did this often when I felt lonely it made me feel closer to my kind. I made my way into the shower and began to get ready for my visit.

As long as I kept my cool and didn't raise any suspicions I could still visit her. If I act normal then I could properly even pick up a few things I hadn't before. Things I would've ignored before because I was oblivious to it.

After a hot refreshing shower, and brushing my teeth, I dried myself quickly. Throwing on my underwear, a camo green top and some black jeans. I slipped on my socks and boots, tying up my still wet hair, I grabbed my keys and visitors card and left the house. There was no need to get dressed up, my mother acted the same either way. It was a half an hour walk to the asylum, one I didn't mind. I often enjoyed walking, it gave me the chance to think. In this case about last night.

After having a in-depth discussing with Travis regarding his plans for stopping Project Lycan, We realized it was two am. I had dismissed them both, my brother had looked like he wanted to stay a bit longer to spend more time with me. But I made it clear he was not forgiven. You just didn't get over nine years of hurt in such a small space of time. I wasn't even sure if I would ever be able to forgive him. But I had already come to terms with the fact I would no doubt be seeing him again. He too wanted to end Project Lycan, which undoubtedly meant we would have to work together. It was a daunting fact.

Then there was the problem of keeping this all a secret from Jason. Jason so happened to be the person I saw most, I saw him the three days I went to college and when I didn't he visited regularly. Travis made it clear that this would take up a lot of my time. Despite my skills, I would require further training, plus I would need to select a fleet of my own. I didn't need many but I did need to choose wisely. It was important that no word got back to the high council. If there was a traitor in our midst then them discovering our plan could ultimately ruin everything.

I spotted the building not far ahead of me, anger threatened to rise inside me. However I managed to calm myself, thinking about the risk I could induce were I to engage in suspicious behavior was enough to stop me. I pushed open the entrance, putting a smile on my lips as I did so. I tried to look happy that I would get to spend time with my mother.

I walked up to the front desk, Julie the receptionist smiled at me, normally we would exchange a but if chit chat. But she was currently on the phone, she waved me through and I gave her a nod of thanks. Wondering if all the times she had talked to me, comforted me and greeted me, she knew the truth behind this place. The idea made me sick.

I waved my visitors card through the scanner and walked through the metal detectors. Apparently it was urgent that all objects being brought into the visiting rooms must be revealed to the personnel before entrance. I had assumed it was so that the patients couldn't grab anything sharp or heavy they could hurt someone with. But now I had other suspicions.

I had restrained myself and not brought any weapons with me, not that I needed any. Although most of the staff members here were shifters, they were not nearly used to the field work I was. I had gone to battle with my pack a few times, I wasn't a fully fledged warrior but I was considered a benefit to any fleet. Although unfortunately my mother had been somewhat of a handful before I could go on any full skirmishes, plus there was college. Unlike most shiftlings, I wanted to get as much education as possible, it was fundamental if you wanted to climb the hierarchy ladder of the supernatural world. You had to be skilled in all areas, strength, strategy, intelligence. The more you had going for you the higher you could climb.

I reached the door of my mothers room, I hadn't noticed anything different. This place looked like your standard residential home. With areas for them to relax, snookers tables, a cafeteria. You wouldn't imagine the shifters here suffered from mental instabilities. Although wolves we're their main input of patients, they also cared for other shifters with special cases. Ever heard of rabies? Well it's a lot more common in shifters than you would think. They have a ward for that here, yeah, it's not pretty.

After pushing open the oak door, I peeked in and spotted her immediately. Sitting in a crouch position in front of the TV. I felt my heart twinge slightly, although my mother was perfectly capable of acting human if she fought it, she had given up. The Luna-Psychosis affected you more on the inside than it did on the outside, ironically whilst she didn't suffer from violent shifts, although she walked around in human form, my mother acted more dog-like than necessary.

I spotted her carer, sitting in her armchair with her clipboard, watching the TV. She threw me a smile, one which I returned weakly. I had liked Kelly, I always thought she was a reliable carer, who knew exactly how to handle my mums weird behaviour. But I couldn't help but wonder, was Kelly in on this too?

"Hey Evelyn, look whose here! You've got a visitor!" Like an excited puppy my mum whipped her head round at me, showing off a full set of teeth in an excited grin. Upon spotting me, she shifted onto her knees, stretched up and held her arms wide.

"Baby!" She called, flexing her fingers for a hug. I obliged, making my way over, I mimicked her position on my knees and hugged her.

"Hey mum, how you doing?" I asked softly as I pulled away, she beamed at me as though I was her favourite person in the world. If it wasn't for the fact she was kneeling on the floor and her hair was a short, spiky mess, she would almost look like a relatively normal woman. She was wearing jeans and a long black baggy shirt. Almost as if she was able to leave this place whenever she wanted to go grocery shopping. I assumed they dressed their patients this way to make their families feel less like they've lost them. Give them the appearance of normality. Even so she still didn't look right,

My mum stroked up and down my arm as though enjoying the feel of my skin,

"Mama misses you dear, mama thinks of you all the time, when your not here they play videos of you. Look mama will show you," she turned and crawled away over to Kelly. I felt a pang in my chest, she had started referring to herself as mama ever since I had brought over videos for her to watch while I wasn't there. It was because when I wasn't here she would watch videos of me when I was just a toddler, calling her 'mama'. Kelly seemed prepared and pulled out one of the tapes before handing it to her. She turned and crawled back to me. For some reason my mum liked to crawl everywhere now, as though she was still in wolf form. The doctors told me it was a symptom of medication they gave her, it kept her relatively sane. But she forgot herself a lot, forgot natural human tendencies like walking or eating with a knife and fork. I hate watching her eat, it makes me queasy.

She pushed the video into the cassette player and pressed play, shuffling over to me. She grabbed my shoulders roughly and pulled my head so it was resting on her screen flickered to life, and on it I saw myself. Only six years of age, wearing a tiger one-sie.

"RAAAA!" I growled at the screen, "Look mama, I'm a tiger, RAAA!" I could hear mum chuckle behind the camera, her laugh was so different then, so much more alive.

"Very good darling," I flinched at the sound of her voice, it was so natural, so smooth. Not brittle and weak like it is now.

"RAAA!" My younger self clawed at the air, bounding about as though looking for prey. We were standing in the living room, my mum probably seated on the sofa watching me play and felt the need to record the moment. "I wanna eat some yummy meat, yum yum yum"

At that moment, you could hear the door open, the voice of my father as he called to see who was home. "In here papa!" I watched myself call. My old mother turned the camera towards the door, as my father walked in. He smiled affectionately at my mother as he saw her. I sucked in a breath at the sight of this, it was so hard seeing my father sometimes. Mum seemed unaffected by it, as though he hadn't been murdered at all. Sometimes she even talked as though dad was coming to collect her for lunch. My fathers eyes turned to my six year old self, and he pulled a face of false fear.

"Oh no! There's a tiger in our living room!" He yelled in fake surprised.

"RAAA" I yelled back, bounding at him playfully. He swooped me up, and tickled me.

"You want some do ya! How bout that and that!" My little self screamed with laughter, I was extremely ticklish as a child.

"Okay, enough, let the girl breathe!" Obediently my dad stopped, placing me down carefully, before leaning past the camera to give me mum what I could only presume from my toddler-selfs disgusted face was a kiss.

He then moved to the armchair and placed himself down, I took this opportunity to place myself on his knee. He shifted me so I was more comfortable, and pulled me in for a cuddle.

"So littl'un, why have you become a tiger? You're already a wolf" I shook my head as though he had asked the silliest question in the world.

"I'm not a real tiger papa! I'm just pretending!"

"Oh well silly me!" He said shooting my mother a look of amusement that parents often share when a child talks down to them.

"It's ok papa, we all make mistakes" Behind me mum let out a loud maniacally laugh, followed by muttering 'funny baby'. I winced, that laugh just sounded so unnatural, so alien in comparison to the gentle chuckle coming from the speakers. We sat there watching my dad try to convince me that if you spend too much time acting like a tiger, you get stripes. I was a stubborn child, I was always having debates about what was true and what wasn't. It didn't help that Dad liked to exaggerate his stories until they no longer made sense. It hurt to watch sometimes, I missed it so much. There is nothing I want more than to be a normal family of shifters but here I was living by myself, pretending that I was okay with having a crazy mother and being reunited with the brother I hated.

No, my life was far from normal, and It was about to get much worse...


	4. Drake castle

_"She's been showing great stability and continuity, a lot of patients with the same condition can be so erratic and unpredictable. But your mother is an exemplary example of the results of effective treatment. It may be hard to believe when you see her behave in ways you're not used to, but despite the improvements she will always display abnormal cognitive functioning. We cannot cure her from it, we can only suppress it. Fortunately your mother is highly susceptible to our methods of suppression, which is what makes her one of our favoured patients here."_

The doctor had given me the same lecture as usual after a meeting with mum, only this time it didn't excite me as much as it normally did. Before when I heard how well mum was doing it would give me hope, maybe she was get better. Now it felt different, like pure deception, something to deter me from paying closer attention. It had worked before, but not now.

There were things I noticed now that I hadn't before, the first thing was that mums pupils were always dilated, not once did they expand when I was looked into her eyes. It was hard to figure whether this was due to her medication or the illness, but from what I knew about eyes is that a healthy pair of eyes need to expand and contract to function normally. Another thing I noticed was the dry heat radiating from her. After holding mums hand for an hour, my hands were clammy with sweat, whereas hers were dry. Another medical side effect? I'm not sure. But I knew it wasn't natural.

It wasn't nearly enough to prove that they were performing unethical experiments on her, but It was worth investigating. As I strolled back towards my house, I contemplated once again the possibility that this is all a ruse. However, there were just too many confounding factors to think about. A member of the royal family being in my house vouching for my brother, there are no such things as traitors amongst Drakes. I didn't know a lot about our kinds politics but I did know that when a dispute arose, it was settled amongst the family and no one but blood were to be involved. The family members rarely ever needed to change into their shifted form, purely because they were strong enough to handle things in their human forms. Legends states that when a Drake reveals his true form, there is always chaos and mass destruction that is left in their wake. I knew that Travis was no impersonator, I could smell his potential, I could also sense his lack of effort. How easy it was to restrain me, it pissed me off something chronic.

There was also the feeling I got as soon as they had spoke about the asylum, wolves have an ability to sense when were being deceived. We're can't detect small lies or anything like that, but we can smell when someone's being dishonest. There's sweat, their heart rate, it all works in a particular way, My father said it's something to do with animal instinct and pheromones, I never paid too much attention. I was more Brbaun than brains, despite my efforts to ace all areas. It was always obvious that Derek was going to turn out as the smart child. Despite his inability to shift, he understood everything dad taught him about wolf biology and would even spend his times teaching himself more. He had the potential to be a doctor or scientist amongst out kind, that being before he disappeared.

I could smell the unfamiliar Diesel engines before I saw them, in my town everyone drove cheap manual petrol cars. You rarely saw the good stuff, but I could there were four vehicles parked outside my house.

"Great, more visitors." I muttered under my breathe.

As I strode down the hill, I spotted three identical black audis, and one silver Mercedes. In the distance I could see a grey haired gentleman in a suit standing beside the merc, clearly waiting for my arrival. I approached him warily, he maintained eye contact until I was only a few metres away.

"Miss O'neil, your presence is requested by the Prince of Evignon, heir to the throne, if you could be so kind as to allow us to escort you to the Evignon estate." I threw my hands in my hips in a defensive stance.

"And if I refuse?"

"I'll carry you over my shoulder." I spun around, cursing in my head, Travis had been standing right behind me and I had even noticed. I could smell him now, his deep musky scent, but why couldn't I smell him before. I scowled angrily, "Now, now don't do that, you'll get wrinkles."

He was infuriating.

The suit man opened the passenger door of the Mercedes, I glanced over at him. Not softening my scowl, "I'm hardly dressed for the occasion" I snapped. Travis merely chuckled, once more drawling in my ear.

"Little one, nothing in your wardrobe would come even close to being dressed for the occasion. None the less, you're coming anyway."

I wanted to kick him in the balls, and stomp into the house. I hated the idea of being summoned at his beck and call, it was something so typical of a royal. But at the same time, being invited to Evignon estate was a big deal, in the shifter world it was huge. My mother had never been, my dad had once to receive a medal for bravery. To go there was a once in a life time oppurtunity. I forced myself to look back into the intimidating gaze of Travis Drake. Narrowing my eyes at him,

"Fine, but don't expect a fucking curtsey"

"Wouldn't dream of it" he smirked devilishly.

Evignon estate was the most magnificent place I had ever laid my eyes on, the land went on for acres, it took us ten minutes to get around to the front gate. The gate was pure gold, the bars moulded intricately to look like vines crossed over each other, each side hide up by a light cream brickwork that went on for miles. There was two guards stood at each side of the gate, there was dressed in maroon suits, with gold lining, Royal colours. The gates pulled open reveal miles of pavement that stretched on, coated by a beautiful thick forest of Sakura trees. There were in bloom too, layers and layers upon pink petals cushioning the trees like balls of cotton candy. There was magnificent.

"Breathtaking isn't it?"

It was only there I'd realised my hands were pressed up against the side of the car, and like an overexcited child I had been gaping. I straightened myself up and leaned casually back into my seat.

"Somewhat," I replied coolly, trying to suppress the flush against my seat. From the fact that Travis smirk only seemed to widen, I had probably failed. I reserved myself as the cars glided smoothly along the road path which likes the brickwork outside was cream. I eventually pulled my eyes from the window and glanced over at Travis. "So what's a member of royal family's reason for summoning me here? Surely any plans could have been discussed back at mine,"

I wouldn't have liked the idea of Travis in my house, but I was starting to feel nervous. The idea of going into Drake Castle, it was daunting, what if there were other royals? A foolish question, of course there would be, the Drakes were hardly a small family. They obviously knew about me, especially if the Prince of Evignon was summoning me himself. I had heard manly rumours about him, the strongest heir to the throne. I couldn't quite remember his name, Terrence or something. He was supposedly the key strategy designer of all battle plans and military operations, he had never lost a fight whether it was through his troops or single handed. He was believed to be the most eligible bachelor in the country, not that I stood a chance, a simple wolf girl. But who knew, maybe Travis had put in a good word, then again probably not.

"Because Drake Castle is impenetrable my dear, it would be impossible to reveal valuable information when the likelihood is your walls are already bugged."

"But you were happy to last night?"

"I had the place scanned beforehand, it was clear."

"So your saying that between then and now, someone broke in and bugged my house?"

"Most definitely." I stared at him incredulously, he knew this and yet instead of informing me at my house where I could do something about it. He dragged me away so he could have a chat? I was getting annoyed again. I crossed my arms over my chest, well this guy clearly had some power in his pocket. I might as well use it to my advantage.

"I want them removed."

"My people are already on it," his response was quick, he'd expected that I would make such a demand.

"What if it happens again?"

"It won't."

"How can you be so sure?" At this point he had been casually staring out of the window, not avoiding my gaze but more not interested enough to look. He sighed deeply, as though this conversation was wasting his precious time,

"Look pup, there are some things you want to know and some that you need to know. This is a want situation, ergo I'm not obliged to tell you." Now I was pissed.

"And if I refuse to work with you?"

"Then your mother stays at the asylum and you live with the guilt of letting her remain a guinea pig." He finally returned to me, smirk still sitting comfortable, his eyes challenging me.

I clenched my fists, I wanted to smack him so much. I've never had to hold in anger before, I usually just attack when I feel like it. But I knew better than to allow myself to get done for treason, even if he was just a lowly second cousin or whatever. The punishment remains the same. After a moment, he sighed once more, giving me a disappointed look.

"Just like the others, too scared to play."

"No one wants to play with the ugly toys." I retorted, the car pulled to a stop, and I spun to look out the window. I couldnt help but gasp at the amazing view. Drake castle truly was everything the stories claimed, it was larger than any building I'd even ever laid on, big enough to fit thousands of people. Arched window longer than lamp posts, a gushing fountain decorating with various dancing mammals, golden silhouettes merged into the walls brickwork. The front door was wide enough to fit it two four by fours at the same time. As we parked, I through myself out of the car, running to the fountain to get a closer look.

Placing my palms on the concrete outskirts, I leaned over to look it. Inside were little silver fish, most likely not shifters, although you never know. I watched as the danced between each other, so elegant and delicate. Normally when I'm in the river I don't take time to admire the fish I catch, but I'd never seen a fountain before. It was too peaceful to hunt in.

"My, my, you are easily amused aren't you, maybe I'll tell Derek to buy you a fountain in exchange for your forgiveness."

I snapped.

Without thinking I span on my heel, and thrust the palm of my hand upwards aiming to send the bridge of his nose into his brain. He caught my wrist seconds before contact, that regal smug smirk on his face. "Now, now little one. You may be Derek's sister, but that doesn't mean I won't kill you." I snarled at him, receiving a rolling of the eyes. I attempted to yank my wrist from him but his grip was too strong. After a moment I stopped resisting and leaned in close, so close we could feel each others breath.

"Let's get something straight you stuck up prick, my names Penelope, not pup or little one, so cut that shit out. Furthermore, I do not need your help to save my mother. I conceded and agreed to work with you as you promised it would be the best route to take. I did not agree to put up any bullshit remarks about my families history, you may think that it's okay to make jokes. But Derek isn't the only one that should be trying to earn my forgiveness. In case you forgot, YOU knew it was a trap and yet they still died because you were too fucking slow! So maybe you should show me some fucking respect and stop trying to piss me off!"

Not once did I take my eyes off of his, I watched the change in them as my words reached him. I spotted the guilt. It's very easy to hide your emotions from a distance, but not when you're this close.

He slowly let go of my arm, holding up his palm to his servants who were approaching cautiously, unsure how to act. He stepped back and turned, "Artemis, Take her to Sir Derek O'neill's quarters."

A short stocky black guy stepped over to me, I thought he was going grab me but instead he bowed slightly and gestured his hand for me to follow him. He looked very friendly, and wise, not so much a body guard but more of an advisor. I smiled and stepped after him, feeling very awkward as I walked past Travis. The doors seem to open automatically as we approached them, I soon forgot my awkwardness as we stepped inside. The floors were made a black marble, laced with gold flecks. There were rows of columns that replicated images I had one seen in a history textbook on Greece. The centre was over 100 ft high, deep intricate paintings of battles engraved above me, both horrific and beautiful. It was even more breathtaking than the outside.

I followed Artemis out of the Entrance Hall, through a set of double doors that lead to a corridor that seemed to go on forever. After we had distanced ourselves from Travis I spoke again.

"Excuse me for asking but was Derek O'neill knighted?" I had noticed the way Travis had stated his name, but felt too awkward to ask at the time. Artemis looked at me with a gentle smile, I caught a waft of his scent, he was from the woodlands originally. Most likely had spent most of his life amongst a large litter, eating herbs and berries. I felt an immediate liking for him.

"Yes ma'am, Sir Derek was knighted four months ago but Her Royal highness Queen Anastasia."

"How did he earn such an honour?"

"He saved Prince Icarus from death." I raised my eyebrows at this, I couldn't imagine my brother as much of a fighter, I wanted to know how. But to show intrigue in my brothers life? After what he did. It felt too much like a betrayal. Instead I chose a different subject,

"Do you enjoy your job?"

"Yes, Miss,"

"Even though you are so far from home?" Artemis glanced at me, his smile remaining comfortably in his expression,

"You have an impressive nose Miss, and my home was destroyed years ago. My family and I, now live in the forests outside the castle." I raised my eyebrows in suprise, this was news to me. The grandure of Drake Castle was amplified by the mystery that surrounded it. As far as I was aware only members of the royal family and it's servants lived here. But then again, Artemis was a servant, however I would've thought they would live in the castle, and I doubted that family members were allowed to remain close by.

"Are there many in the forests?"

"Yes Miss, the forests are an area for protection for civilians whose lives have been affected by the war. The royal family allows us to have refuge, in exchange for small duties."

"So it's blackmail?"

"Not at all Miss, we are given the oppurtunity to apply for our own roles in whatever we wish. Like any community, we must pay our part in some way. JSA is not required when you live in in the Royal gardens. The hours are standard and the pay is generous here," I smiled, that was nice to know that something was being done to help those in need. But I couldn't help but find a question forming in the back of my mind, it was a dark question, one that angered me. I ignored it, I'd already confronted a royal once today. I did not want a repeat.

"You say war, Artemis? Do you mean against the Sythes? Wasn't that over years ago?" I had heard no recent declaration of war, as far as i was aware the only enemies we had were a small group of terrorists fighting for attention more than anything else.

"Innocents have been slaughtered, homes destroyed and families torn apart, Miss. None of these things were commitment by a small number of individuals. The enemy is greater than the public are allowed to believe."

"Then why are you telling me?"

"Because Miss O'neill, your visit is not just an informal invite. The royal family have agreed that you are a safe ally, and worthy of the truth. Once you entered Drake Castle of Evignon Estate, you were recruited."

My jaw dropped, a thousand thoughts rushed through my mind. Recruited? for what? to fight in the war? What did this mean? Why me? I wanted to ask more, but i noticed that we had stopped outside some navy double doors. Inside I could hear a crying sound,

"Who's room is this Artemis?"

"Sir Derek O'neill's Miss," But that sound, that faint wail, I knew what that sound was, I had heard it on tv, when walking through public, in all sorts of places. But never had I expected to hear it from my brothers bedroom, without knocking, I grabbed the handles and pulled the doors apart.

And there was Derek... cradling a baby.


	5. The Aunt and the Prince

Derek looked up at me, he smiled at the sight of me. That made me twinge inside, I wanted to look away, but I couldn't. My eyes were locked on that baby, in his arms. Slowly, Derek approached me, bringing the child closer.

Now normally I don't freak out over the sight of babies, but this was different. Wolf shifters have a very strong family bond, and when a new member is born. They are to be greeted, welcome and bonded with all members of the pack.

This hadn't happened this time.

I didn't have to ask if it was his, I had been able to smell her from behind the door. She was Derek's, and someone else, and herself. Three intertwined scents.

"Her name is Ophelia Penelope Evelyn O'niell," My eyes lifted to his, he looked happy to see my reaction, he knew what this meant.

As I mentioned previously, our kind are a very tight-knit member protected, respected and cared for. Initially we are have our ranks in each family, but essentially as a group we are a network our brothers and sisters. We are all connected on a level that it very difficult to break. That was why, losing Dad, James and even Derek was so hard. That was why mother had lost it, she couldn't cope. A large part of our souls were ripped out by that event, none of us functioned the same after that. Not even me, It's hard to believe, but deep down I am still damaged. The wound still bleeds, but i conceal it. I conceal it for Mother.

So, with such a strong connection, the birth of Ophelia. The bond that was forming inside my heart, an unbreakable desire to hold her, love her and protect her. It had been there before i'd even entered the room, and now it was awake.

"How ... how old is she?" I gulped, my fingers were itching to take her from Derek, who was bouncing her in his arms, soothing her. I wanted so badly to welcome her as my niece. But I had to restrain myself,

"She's four month's old," My heart melted, she was a Christmas baby. I closed my eyes, hoping that by blocking the image of her from me, would make this easier. It didn't.

I opened them once more and there she was looking at me. Big beautiful eyes, one brown one blue just like Derek's , staring into mine. Looking at my soul. I let out a whimper,

"Darling, are you talking to someone? " The new voice came form another room, I pulled my eyes away from Ophelia, to the door behind Derek. Slowly as it opened, a face peeked round.

It was the face of a beautiful red-headed woman, with fair skin, freckles and big brown eyes. She looked blankly at me for a moment, before beaming widely. She threw the door open and bounded towards, her bouncy curls boucning with her, amongst other things... I took a step back in shock, only to have her throw her arms round me in a hug.

"Oh thank heavens, you're finally here. I've been dying to meet you, Derek's told me so much. You're much prettier than I expected, He told me you were a bit of tomboy, but look at those cheekbones, those lashes! Oh you're so darling", I stared at her, shocked to say the least. In all my years, i had never been greeted by a stranger like this. Sensing my confusion, she let go of me, taking my hands instead. "I'm sorry, I promised Derek I would restrain myself. But I couldn't help myself, i've been looking forward to this for weeks. I'm Maria, Derek's fiance,"

That explained a lot, although I had never imagined Derek being with someone so perky. Actually, I hadn't really imagined Derek with anyone, but he was. With a baby, and partner.

"I need to sit down," Maria nodded fervently, leading me over to there navy and cream sofas. I took a seat, glancing behind me for reassurance off Artemis. Only he was gone, he must have departed whilst I was distracted by Ophelia. I took a deep breath, calming my shaken nerves. This was a lot to take in, especially considering less then 24 hours ago, I only just accepted that possibility that my brother wasn't the traitor I had expected him to be. Now, I had to deal with the concept of having family I knew nothing about.

It did not help that Derek was smiling away like this was a family reunion.

Maria glanced over at Derek, "Hun, go put Ophelia down for her nap, then if you could go post those letters like I'd asked, that would be great." Maria's tone suggested that those letters was something she's been badgering him about for a while. He nodded and left the room, I didn't want to admit it, but I didn't want Ophelia to go. I wasn't ready to hold her, but I wanted to look just for a little longer. However I was grateful for what Maria had done, she had been able to tell I was overwhelmed, so she decided to remove two overwhelming factors to help me deal with the shock. I could tell she was a nice girl, and that we could get along. If I ever got over the fact she was engaged to my brother.

"Now, I know this is all alot to take in, but whatever you need I am here for you. I can tell it's been tough on you, if you need to let of some steam that's fine. Derek may be my fiance, but when I learned what he did. Gosh, I've never slapped someone so hard in my life, my hand stung for a week. If you wanna cry, pick a shoulder, I recommend the right." Suprisingly, I laughed at that.

After a moment, Derek re-entered with a baby moniter. He placed it down on the coffee table, before quietly making his way to the door. He clearly had respected that whatever Maria's plans for me were, they were neccessary. I was glad to see him go, I didn't know, how much more of him I could take. I was still mad, I still hadn't forgiven him. What he did, Despite his reason for it, it was still wrong.

The door shut behind him, I let out a breath. Looking back at Maria, who was waiting patiently for me to talk. I felt myself looking for some awkward chit chat to make, could I really open up to this stranger? Express all the things I'd been dying to talk to someone about, but had no one I could. It was all too personel to share with someone you just didn't know.

And yet just like that, every that I had bottled up. All of my feelings, all of my anger, my hurt. It came hurtling to the surface, at a hundred miles an hour, exploding out of me.

And for the fourth time in my entire life, I began to cry...

Usually, when I need to unload about things, the only person I really go to is Jason. Who is my rock when it comes to stressors at college, boy issues, even sometimes talking about my mum. Jason doesn't know the whole truth, but as far as he's concerned she's suffers from a mental condition and is in a psychiatric hospital.

Even so, he's still great to talk to. But he knows nothing about Derek, didn't even know he existed.

Maria on the other hand, pretty much knows every secret about our family.

I have never spoken to anyone like this, about Derek's betrayel, losing Dad and James, How hard it is to see Mum the way she is. I just let it all out, I've never been able to trust anyone completely, and for some reason, Maria. The girl i'd only just met, was hearing about every dark corner of my life, and I trusted her.

"Sometimes when things are on top of you, there's nothing better than a good cry, I know it must be hard for you. I was told your not one for revealing your feelings too much, I'm glad you trust me."

I nodded, rubbing my face, I had stopped crying ten minutes ago. I didn't know how far this post box is, but Derek had been gone for an hour. Probably, pre-warned by Maria to make himself scarce.

"You're so nice, Sorry for unloading on you." Maria beamed,

"Don't be silly, We're basically sisters now!" I blinked at her, I had always wanted a sister growing up. Having two brothers had been fun, but if I ever did anything girly, they'd cringe and run off. This was going to take some getting use to.

"Ophelia's beautiful,"

"Isn't she just? We didn't plan her, She just kinda appeared in our lives. You should've seen Derek's face when I told him, I've never seen him look so pale. He was awful at first, said he wasn't ready to be a dad, said he didn't deserve to have kids." Maria's smiled faltered, her eyes glazed over as though she was picturing the events at this very moment, "He drank a lot throughout the first trimester, I barely saw him. Then one morning, he changed, crawled over to me in bed, and started talking to my belly. You wanna know what he said?" I didn't want to admit it, but I did. I have never pictured the idea of Derek freaking out over having a child. Now I was being told the entire story, I wanted to know. Slowly, I nodded,

"He said, 'I can't wait to show you to Penny.'" I stared at her, amazed to hear this revelation. Did Derek still care for me this much? After all these years, Had he thought about me? About mum? I looked away. Not wanting to well up again.

There was a knock at the door, pulling the pair of us out of this bittersweet moment. "Come in," Maria called knowingly, We watched the door open and Derek entered. Travis following him, I straightened instantly. My anger from earlier hadn't fully disappated, but it hadn't remained either. Admittedly I felt a little guilty about what I had said to him, but I wasn't exactly going to admit that to him.

Derek strolled over, sitting himself down next to Maria, and giving her a peck on the cheek. He clearly adored her, and It wasn't hard to see why. She leaned into him, looking up at Travis, with a stern expression. She raised her hand and pointed at him,

"You may be royalty Mister, but that's no excuse for being rude. I cook you roast dinner two weeks ago, and you haven't come by once to say hi to me and Ophelia." He smiled at her, for once his smile was warm and not challenging,

"My apologies, Maria, but Derek should have informed you on how busy my schedule is." He came over, sitting himself in their armchair. He hadn't even glanced at me once.

"Schedule Smedule! You can make time to eat my cooking but you can't squeeze a minute to see your goddaughter!" I glanced between Maria and Travis in shock, before I could help myself, I spoke.

"He's her Godfather?" Travis finally looked at me, giving me a glare that took all my strength not to make me shudder. Feeling the tension, Derek spoke.

"He's actually great with Ophie, She loves him to pieces. Sometimes when she's crying, she wont calm down unless he holds her," Travis tore his eyes away from me, only to grin at Derek. It was amazing how easily he could change his expression, such a smooth transition. I had clearly pissed him off,

"It's because she can sense that she's being held by a real man," Derek reached out and punched his shoulder playfully,

"She clearly doesn't get her admiration from me, and I believe you still haven't brought back that box I gave you the banoffee pie in! Did none of your expensive private tutors teach you manners? Honestly, hardly a strong choice for a reliable godparent are you!" She was clearly teasing, It was obvious that Maria respected Travis. Something I had yet to understand,

"Okay, down to business," Travis turned his gaze to me once more, "In case you didn't realize, we didn't just bring you here so you could get acquainted with Maria and Ophelia. We have a mission, and we need to talk to you about putting together your team."

"I thought you said it was down to me,"

"It is, but I need to approve who your choices before they're debriefed. I need to know as soon as you do, your phone has my number already. You are to text me the names of each of your choices, I need to know all the names by the end of the week. They will be brought here for debriefing, and then you will be assigned your first mission."

"Mission?" I growled, Maria placed her hand on my arm, We were talking about saving my mum. This guy was treating it like some military operation. Plus there was the fact he had managed to get hold of my phone without me realising and return it.

"Yes Mission, Miss O'neill, do you have a problem with that?" He asked through gritted teeth, I sat back a little. That was the first time he'd addressed me like that. It felt odd, uncomfortable. I didn't like it,

"I guess not," I replied cautiously, I didn't want this guy as an enemy, and yet here we were fighting at every corner.

"I'm going to make some tea," Maria stood up, "How do you like yours Penelope?"

Before I could respond, Travis spoke, "A little bit of milk, four to five spoonfuls of sugar. Depending on the time or situation." I shook my head,

"Okay, how the hell do you know that?"

"I did my research,"

"Meaning you've been watching me," Travis rolled his eyes, an action that caused me to clench my fists.

"Please, you're not my type, I had my employees do it."

I stood up, walking away from the sofa's, as the last thing I wanted to do was get blood on Maria's sofa trying to tear the guys throat out.

"Look, I'm all for saving my mum from a group of psycho scientists, but what the hell!"

"She's right, Travis, that's a serious invasion of privacy!" Maria stated, I smiled at her, I liked that fact she was defending me,

"I had to do my research, The Sythes aren't our only enemies."

"Still, all you had to do was check my connections. Seriously, how many times have your people been in my house?" Derek and Travis exchanged looks, Derek looked at the floor, Travis sighed.

"Approximately 40-45 times," I let out a groan of frustration,

"It was neccessary," He responded, I could tell from his tone he didn't like getting criticism. He obviously wasn't used to it.

"Honestly Travis, If people found out, your reputation would be ruined. You'll get nicknames like The Tyrannical Prince of Evignon."

"Oh I dunno, I think it's suits him,"

"Yeah, I guess It does, but that doesn't mean what you did was okay. I mean, poor Penny...Penny?"

There were all staring at me, and undoubtly they had a reason to. My jaw had fallen open and I was staring at Travis in shock, It took a moment before I could speak.

"Y-You're a ...Prince?" I stuttered out, he frowned in response,

"Of course, Didn't you realise?"

"Well... no, I thought you were a cousin or something," Travis stared back at me, as bewildered by that knowledge as I was of him being a prince. It made sense now, Prince Travis of Evignon. Heir to the throne. I couldn't believe I'd forgotten that. It went to show how little attention I paid to the politics of my world. My cheeks began to feel very warm...

All of a sudden Travis started to laugh, it was an unfamiliar sound, we certainly hadn't been expecting that reaction. I thought he may be annoyed, even mad, and yet here he was laughing with amusement. He began to laugh so hard, he felt the need to hold onto his ribs. It was hardly princely behaviour, and before I knew it, I was laughing too. And then Derek and Maria joined in. Within moments, we were all laughing uncontrollably. It was as if all the tension, the confusion and the awkwardness had turned into a laughing gas. And we were high on it all. The laughing lasted several moments, it was hard because we were trying not to be too loud. Eventually, it began to simmer and we were able to collect ourselves.

By the time we had calmed ourselves, I'd had collapsed onto the sofa next to Maria, who was now wiping tears of laughter from her eyes.

"So about that tea?"

"No thank you, don't worry about it Maria, I think I'm gonna head home. This is all still too overwhelming for me, Can we do this meeting on tuesday?"

I looked at Travis who seemed unsure, it was obvious he wanted to jump straight and cover as much as he could. But I had dealt with too much this weekend, I needed a break, badly. As nice as it was to meet Maria, and talk to her, I needed to go back to what I was used to. All this crying, laughing and new information was exhausting. I needed to get home, call Jason and feel a little normal. I felt relief flood me as Travis nodded in agreement,

I stood up once more, Maria following suit, once again she wrapped her arms around me in a hug. She was clearly a hugger, I could get used to it. Maybe. I glanced at Derek, before looking away. I wasn't ready for that, I could barely cope with being in the same room as him. Even the concept of giving him a hug goodbye, it just seemed impossible to me right now.

Maria let go, rubbing my shoulders, "Come back soon okay!"

"I'll go check on the baby," Derek turned, leaving the room, I sense he was hurt by my lack of recognition, I couldn't allow myself to feel guilty. Travis also stood up,

"I'll walk you out," I was suprised by this gesture, but I didn't protest. We had finally lifted some of the tension between us, and I didn't wanted to replace any.

I let him lead me out of the room, giving Maria one last wave as we left. I shut the door behind me, looking up at him, he had already started walking back. I followed him quietly, knowing that he was a prince changed this. Talking the way I did to him, in reality, could get me thrown in prison. I didn't really think much of it before, but this wasn't a small time Lord or Duke. This was Prince Travis Drake. Could I be the same? I didn't like the idea of being polite to him, he may be a prince, but he was still a disrespectful, arrogant snob.

"I want you to treat me the same as you did before you knew," This was a shock to hear, It was almost as if he read my mind, and answered my question intentionally,

"Who said I was going to treat you any different?" He looked back at me, shooting me his signature cheeky grin,

"Good girl," I rolled my eyes at him. We didn't talk for a while, which was nice. I was able to once again admire the decor in silence, I hated to admit it, but I wanted to come back. Even just to admire the artwork, there was some amazing pieces hanging in the hallways. Works I'd recognised from history books and television. They clearly had money to spare, and spent it well they did. Whether I would be returning was a question mark, I presumed so from what Travis had said about the mission. There was also Maria's invitation, would I be allowed to visit my soon-to-be sister-in-law? Would I be able to maintain a friendship with here and cope with Derek's existence? Then there was Ophelia, the idea of holding her, interacting with her, was exciting and terrifyingly. Was a ready? Would it be too weird for me? I had bonded with other newborns in the pack before, but never a direct relative.

After walking in silence for a while, we entered the same great hall Artemis had lead me through, I looked around to see if I could spot him. But unfortunately, he was nowhere to be seen.

As we reached the front entrance we stopped, I turned to Travis.

"Look, I'm sorry about what I said to you earlier, about it being your fault about my family, their deaths were nothing to do with you, they were murdered by the Sythes, and the Sythes alone are at fault." He tilted his head at me, raising his hand, he cupped my chin. An action I was not expecting,

"You are fascinating," I felt my eyes drawn into his green irises, for a moment I felt lost, they were so deep, intricate and full of secrets. I felt the desire to unravel every one. He leaned closer, I could feel his breath. Then slowly, his familiar smirk returned. He leaned past me, whispering into my ear. "I'm going to make you regret calling me ugly..."

Then in an instant he was gone.

I gasp, feeling the heat rush to my cheeks. I spun to see where he'd gone, but It didn't take long for me to realise he'd already left the room. Damn, he was fast. I reached up to touch my face, it was hot. I was obviously blushing, I felt immediately irritated by the fact that for a moment, I had lost myself to his charm.

"Miss O'niell?" I jumped as my name was spoken, spinning around to see Artemis, I relaxed at the sight of him.

"Yes,"

"A car is waiting outside to return you home," I nodded, quickly make my way out of the building, I needed to get home. To return to reality, I had college tomorrow, and none of my coursework was even close to being up to date.

As I climbed into a white Mercedes that had been waiting for me, I slammed the door shut. Vowing in my head that I would never let a prince make me blush ever again. Especially not Travis Drake.

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE**

 **Hey Guys, Sorry if this felt a little rushed, I wanted you get a feel for the way things are moving. In case you didn't realise, I love a good plot twist! Tell me If I'm feeding you too much to take in. Also I do spell check, but I'm always going back and finding more things to correct, so if my grammar annoys you, I really am sorry. I'd love for any votes or comments, and thanks for reading so far!**


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